*Avenue Utd manager David Russell at the club grounds in Roslevan. Photograph: Natasha Barton
SILVERWARE MUST BE OBTAINED if Avenue Utd’s progress this season is to be classed as a success, the manager of the ten-time Clare Cup champions has outlined.
David Russell is in his third season over the Ennis club, he is determined to end their first team’s trophy drought of almost a decade and in the process he believes it could bring the curtain down on one of the top sides in Clare soccer.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, he offered no excuses as to why Avenue have struggled to obtain silverware. “We haven’t won a trophy since 2013 which is criminal in my eyes as a player and a manager, it is my third year as a manager. Newmarket have been steps ahead of everyone, us included, we’ve bridged the gap hugely but it will count for nothing if we don’t win at least one of the two trophies we’re fighting for, in my eyes it will not be a successful season unless we win one of the trophies”.
During his days at centre half with the club he won four Clare Cup titles and four Premier Division medals. “I retired after being beaten in the final three or four years ago against Newmarket Celtic, the last minute extra time winner sickened us. Newmarket have been the most dominant team in Clare football history and I don’t think a nine in a row will ever be done again, I can’t see that length of domination happening again, we’re trying our best to stop them getting the elusive ten in a row”.
Entering management was not always on the agenda even though he had been over U14, U16, minor and U21 sides for Éire Óg’s footballers. “I retired three years ago and I was approached when other lads stepped down, I got landed with it, once I stepped into it I’ve loved it, as my partner would say it’s a full-time job, I nearly spend time with this than my actual job. I love the ins and outs of it, the interacting with the lads, it’s hard going at times but it is a club I’ve played with for over twenty years so I suppose it was a natural progression to go into it and hopefully this will be the start of a successful couple of years for the club which is needed, Newmarket have had their domination, we’re trying our best to stop them but the club needs to be at the top table again”.
This season has been an education, particularly their runs in the FAI and Munster Junior Cups where they bowed out in the last sixteen stage of both. “You learn more about yourself losing games than winning them sometimes, we lacked experience against North End, we just couldn’t see it out, they bombarded us with about ten minutes to go with corner upon corner, we will learn from that going into big games next year to try and manage to see things out. The Villa game, losing Conor Mullen after a minute was a huge blow, we conceded two goals from two corners which ultimately cost us, Villa have gone onto win the FAI Junior Cup which shows the small margins between success and failure, who knows where we could have gone if we didn’t lose Mullen. We will learn from both of them and we’re already looking forward to both competitions next year”.
Undoubtedly there has been massive positivity associated with such runs but Russell stressed how imperative it is they back this up by winning at the weekend and again on Wednesday in the league decider. “It’s vital because if we don’t win it, it means Newmarket have won ten in a row, a great club, great rivals, I loved playing against them, they are lads I got on well with on and off the pitch despite what people think, someone said before ‘it is David Russell’s obsession to stop Newmarket’, I’m the manager of Avenue I want to win, I don’t care who is in front of me, I’d love nothing better than to beat Newmarket in a Cup final to stop them winning ten in a row and the League and then push on for next year”.
Given that he is a native of Clarecastle and an Avenue stalwart, it is plausible to see why the suggestion can be thrown around that Russell would have a strong disdain for Newmarket-on-Fergus. “Would you believe I actually don’t dislike Newmarket, I’ve great respect for them so I do, the likes of Eoin O’Brien and Eoin Hayes even though they are only young men to play that long at that level, to get as close to an FAI Cup final as they did, to get to Munster Junior finals, I admire that sort of thing, it’s a bit of banter, I’ve great admiration for them but I’d love nothing more than to beat them in a Cup final”.
Such a win could also be the end of Newmarket Celtic, he believed. “100 percent it would be a nail in the coffin. It’s been an extended cycle of success, usually clubs have a four to five year cycle, these guys have been at the top for ten years, if we can somehow manage to win one or two of them then their hunger to come back for another year at 34, 35, 36 and Paddy Purcell is 41 or 42, can they come back for the well another time, I don’t know but this would be a step along the way to stopping their domination”.
He has the task of having down Celtic not once but twice and in the space of a matter of days. The sides meeting on Saturday and again on Wednesday is not ideal, he felt. “I map out every month as I see it, we’d training planned till the end of the season, final on Saturday night and match on the Wednesday, it doesn’t make a difference, we will train on Monday night irrespective of the result and we’ll see how it goes. If we win on Saturday it is a big incentive for Newmarket Celtic and if Newmarket win it’s a massive incentive for us, it’s all to play for, I’m looking forward to it and the whole county is talking about it, the two biggest clubs playing two biggest games of the year within four days”.
With Avenue Utd’s B side losing out to Newmarket in the 2020 Cup final, their strong run was recognised with Mossy Hehir, Cullen McCabe, Eoghan Thynne and Conor Hehir drafted into the A team for the following season. “They had a brilliant season, they won the league, I know there is a big debate on whether second teams should come up, personally I think a B team should come up into the Premier because it makes it as competitive if not more competitive, they had a brilliant season, we picked out four players who thankfully said they were happy to come on board, they haven’t been out of place one bit, their standard has improved our quality in the squad. Brining Elias Kunz, Dylan Barry and Stephen Jordan into the mix has given us seven very good eager young lads and that has helped us”.
Purchasing the Roslevan grounds in 2012 gave Avenue Utd a home, now one of their most loyal servants is chomping at the bit to ensure its clubhouse adds to its trophy collection. “We’re in a more settled place. I remember going to the Fair Green, playing out in Ruan togging out in a trailer it wasn’t great, the money has come in here with grants and the whole lot, the pitches are looking well, we can train, we’ve a good training area and a clubhouse, we’re in a more settled place and getting trophies now is the next step”.
